We are currently undergoing updates to our site and are working to improve your experience on all devices that you use throughout your day. If you should find a page or a story that is not working correctly, please click here.

Thank you for your patience,

TribLIVE.com Team

When the Steelers' young linebackers auditioned in the final preseason game against Carolina, hardly anyone figured they would make significant contributions deep into the regular season.

Yet the Steelers have a playoff pulse in part because sixth-round pick Vince Williams and third-year veteran Chris Carter picked up a wounded linebacker corps during a 38-31 victory at Green Bay on Sunday.

“The standard is the standard, so when our numbers were called, we expected to perform,” said Williams, who made his 11th start at inside linebacker since Larry Foote suffered a season-ending biceps injury in the opener. “That goes for the whole team. We've bought into that, and we believe that.

“I want to make a play every time my number's called. I knew with the spread passing game of Green Bay that my opportunities would be limited. So every time I got on the field, I tried to make a splash play.”

Carter was pressed into duty when rookie first-round draft pick Jarvis Jones couldn't suit up after becoming ill Saturday night. He was clamping down his shoulder pads when the coaching staff told him he would be penciled into the starting lineup.

Already, the Steelers' depth had been tested when right outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley was shelved for the season with a calf injury. Then things appeared desperate when left outside linebacker Jason Worilds staggered off Lambeau Field with a stinger and an abdominal injury.

Worilds said he expects to be at full strength when the Steelers (7-8) host Cleveland (4-11) in the regular-season finale Sunday at Heinz Field.

“We say every week that if the (linebackers) play well, we're going to be successful,” Worilds said. “It's a testament to those guys and their preparation in the way they stepped in and played under pressure.

“I've spent my entire career being the next man up. Chris and Stevenson (Sylvester) came in and played winning football for us.”

Terence Garvin, elevated from the practice squad earlier this season, played well before leaving with a knee injury. Sylvester, signed six weeks after being released, had four tackles against the Packers with the Steelers' postseason fate at stake.

“We played together. It's that simple,” Carter said. “I think Stevenson Sylvester and Vince Williams did a great job on defense and special teams.

“I felt excited and confident about how we were able to play. They (coaches) told me I was starting, and I said ‘All right. I'm ready.' It's the nature of the game. It's the challenges we face.”

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our
Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments either by the same reader or different readers

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent
via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.